Online personalized gifting system

ABSTRACT

An online personalized gifting system for providing gift card related packaging formats to enhance the customer experience relating to online gift card sales.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application that claims the benefit ofthe prior filed, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/273,220entitled “Method And System For Generating A Teaser Video AssociatedWith A Personalized Gift,” filed on Oct. 13, 2011, which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/392,933 entitled “OnlinePersonalized Gifting System,” which was filed on Oct. 13, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to gift cards and more particularly toa system for improving the overall giftability of gift cards byproviding means for users to add numerous personalization options tophysical gift card holders as well as the personalization of otherdigital communications mediums to communicate a sentiment, occasion,message, and/or gift card brand experience. A system according to theinvention may include the creation and transmission of a personalized,introductory video to the intended gift card recipient prior to deliveryand receipt of the physical gift card.

Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards as they arecommonly called based upon their intended use, have become populargifts. Gift cards typically comprise a stored value card whereby acertain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnet strip applied tothe surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by thevendor prior to packaging and display for sale or, more commonly, isselected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashierusing a magnet card reader/writer.

Holders for gift cards have been used both to simply store gift cardsand to provide a surface for decorative indicia and graphics, as well aspersonalized or preprinted text. Gift card holders that provide userinitiated sound are also known. (Docket 365.053) needed is a system thatprovides for personalization of gift card holders via an online,interactive ordering platform, whereby a user may select from contentprovided by the system as well as upload personalized content forinclusion in the production of the holder and may personalize anintroductory video for delivery to the gift recipient to enhanceanticipation and excitement regarding the impending receipt of theholder and an accompanying gift card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of this invention is to provide a means for a user of thesystem, typically a gift giver, to personalize and customize a giftcomprising a gift card. Among other functions and features, an onlinepersonalization system delivers a plurality of gift card relatedpackaging formats intended to improve the giftability of online giftcard sales. Three formats disclosed herein include:

1. A personalized, greeting card-style format that allows the user toupload a photograph, customize the greeting, customize a text message,and add sound such as music or a recorded voice message. Currently,these types of personalization options are offered primarily as itrelates to social expressions, i.e. greeting cards, as opposed to giftcards.

2. A video card holder format that allows the user to upload their ownpersonal video file which is then downloaded onto the video card holdervia USB download, wireless radio signal, or other means, thus allowingthe recipient to initiate playback upon receipt of the gift card andholder.

3. A video teaser comprising a video file (typically approximately 30-90seconds in duration but which may be of any operable length) which canbe personalized by uploading the gift card recipient's photo into thevideo as well as adding text content to certain customizable textfields, such as recipients name, occasion, or sentiment. The videoteaser is provided to the recipient in some embodiments prior to theirreceipt of the gift card and can be provided via an email or QR codecontaining a link to a webpage where the video teaser may be viewed. Thevideo teaser is provided in order to create excitement, anticipation,and imagination of the possibilities of a special gift arriving soon,thus extending the gifting experience to multiple days. Additionally thevideo teasers may be used to communicate a sentiment, occasion, and orgift card brand experience once the gift card has been received.

A method of generating a personalized gift card holder according to anembodiment of the invention may include the steps of providing a systemand system interface, providing one or more gift card types, providing auser a choice of selecting one or more of the gift card types, providingone or more gift card holder designs, providing a user a choice ofselecting one or more of the gift card holder designs, providing a usera choice of selecting a first sound file (such as a music recording)provided on the system or of uploading a second sound file (such as avoice message) to the system, providing a user means for uploading animage file (such as a photograph or logo or other graphic) to thesystem, providing a user means for uploading a video file to the system,providing a user means for submitting text to the system, transmittinguser gift card, gift holder and sound file selections to a productionfacility, storing user-provided image files, text, and sound files oncomputer readable memory, attaching the memory to a card holder,attaching a transaction card to the card holder, providing a videorelating to the gift card to the recipient, delivering the holder to arecipient.

Other advantages of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example anembodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a chart showing steps of a Personalized Gift Card HolderProcess Flow.

FIG. 2 is a chart showing steps of a Video Gift Card Holder ProcessFlow.

FIG. 3 is a chart showing steps of a Video Teaser Process Flow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, a detailed embodiment of the present invention is disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiment ismerely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, there are shown embodiments ofonline personalized gifting platforms and gift packaging formatsintended to improve the giftability of online gift card sales. Threeformats include a system for providing a personalized gift card holderincluding, for example, a voice message, a video card holder including,for example, a personal video, and a personalized digital video teaser.

A gift card holder in accordance with a personalized greeting cardformat allows the user to upload a photo, customize a greeting,customize a text message, add pre-recording songs and/or record a soundor voice message. An online personalized gifting system including a giftcard and gift card holder is typically accessed by the user via a userinterface displayed on a personal computer (PC), smartphone, tablet orother personal computing device. The user interface, also referred toherein as the system interface, is typically a web page created usingHTML, XML, XHTML, Javascript®, Java® or equivalent programming languagesor scripts as generally known in the field. A user may arrive at thesystem interface via an html link provided on a third party website,such as a third party website offering gift cards or other goods orservices, or by directly accessing a system provider website, or bymobile application via smart phone or tablet device.

The user typically initiates an online personalized gifting transactionby searching for specific gift cards via occasion, category (such asdining, spa, hotel, shopping, or event), brand, and/or recipient (suchas him, her, teens, kids, babies) associated with gift cards. The usercan also filter by geographic location, typically city and state, or zipcode or by accessing the web-site directly. The user then selects a giftcard corresponding to a particular offer. Typically, an offer willcomprise a particular business entity or venue and may be, for example,a restaurant, hotel, theater, store, or shopping district. In someembodiments, the user may also select particular design graphics orindicia to appear on the gift card. The user then selects a gift carddenomination or enters a desired denomination amount to load orassociate with the gift card. In certain embodiments the user may searchby experience and thus select multiple brands available via a singlegift card (such as dinner and a movie) or a gift card that ispre-denominated.

Next, the user is presented an option to select from various gift cardpackaging options including but not limited to personalized andcustomized audio (not all options include audio, with some selectionsoffered, the user selects a holder and customizes text and/or video)gift card holder, a pre-designed decorative gift card holder, a videogift card holder and a video teaser. With each of the packaging optionsthe user is presented with the specific features and design previews inorder make a choice.

After selecting a customizable audio gift card holder, the user isdirected to a series of user interface web pages whereby variousselections may be made and various items of personal information such ascustomizable greetings, sentiments, or occasions along with adding apersonal message, photo, sound or voice message may be provided to thesystem for the system to use in creating the personalized and customizedaudio gift card holder. Initially, the user selects from among severalgift card holder designs. Each design typically presents alternatives asto color choice, disposition of graphical elements and text upon thebody of the holder and, in some cases, number and type of customizableelements.

As the user scrolls through design choices, text and icons on the webpage indicate what each design offers as to appearance and functionality(e.g. upload photo or logo, enter text, select or record audio). In thepresent exemplary embodiment, the user interface indicates that theselected holder includes a designated area for printing a photo or logoprovided by the user, one or more designated areas for printingpersonalized text provided by the user, and an audio circuit for playingsound.

The user follows a serious of instructions wherein the user is asked toselect an existing sound file or to record their own message. In thecase of an existing sound file, the user selects the desired song fromamong the choices presented by the system. If the user prefers to recordtheir own message, they will be given the choice to record the messageusing the microphone on their computer or, they can record the messagevia a dial-in number where the user will be instructed via prompts howto record and save the message. The user will then be provided theopportunity to review the recorded message via the web-site beforefinalizing the selection. Once the selection of the sound file(pre-existing or provided by the user) is confirmed by the user, thesound file is sent to a computer located in a fulfillment center or,alternatively, the sound file may be sent to a computer storage facilitythat is connected via the Internet to a fulfillment center. That soundfile is matched to the consumer's order and then burned on to an IC/OTPchip (via cable circuitry to the programmer or to the programmer viawireless connectivity). The IC/OTP chip is then placed in a sound moduleand then into the gift card holder that that user has selected. Chipsmay be burned one at a time or in multiple batches at a time.

After selecting the base gift card holder design, the user is providedwith the opportunity to upload a photo. To initiate upload, a button orother link is typically selected by the user to access a local filedirectory showing a directory structure on the user's PC. The userselects the appropriate directory and then selects a photo image file onthe PC for upload to the system. It should be appreciated that the usermay thus access an image file physically stored on a hard drive or otherstorage media of the user's PC or may use the PC to access an externalhard drive or server connected or in communication with the PC includingimage files accessed via Internet connect from a remote storagelocation. The photo file is typically accessed from a third party,external, social media or photo-sharing site (such as Facebook, Flickr,Snapfish, etc.) and is made available via API interface provided by suchthird party site where the photo files are located.

After the image file associated with the selected photo is uploaded tothe system, the photo appears framed within a virtual image of a giftcard holder on a system webpage or pop-up window so that the user mayassess approximately how the photo will appear when printed on a giftcard holder. Various controls are provided on the webpage to rotate theimage and alter or adjust tone and size. Controls to move the imagerelative to the constraints of a display space provided on the gift cardholder are also provided to allow the user to, for example, center aselected portion of the photo within the display space. A control toallow the user to crop the photo may also be provided.

After the user approves the photo and selected photo parameters oradjustments, typically by selecting a save or continue function, thesystem provides a web page or pop-up window for the user to select andenter a greeting and message that will each be printed and displayedupon the gift card holder. A drop down menu or equivalent functionprovides a list of pre-constructed greetings, each usually associatedwith particular holiday, event or sentiment. After selecting a greeting,the user may enter any desired text message within a text entry box.Instructions may be provided alerting the user to word or characterlimits. The interface may provide means for selecting text message font,size, and/or color, or these parameters may already be determined andmay be pre-selected or determined according aspects of the selected carddesign such as color or theme. The system also provides an interface tofor the user to upload a logo in designated areas.

If not already offered the opportunity to select and/or provide audio,as described above, the user next selects between adding prerecordedaudio, such as a pre-recorded message or song, or recording a voicemessage or other audio using a computer microphone or telephone. If theuser selects the option to add prerecorded audio, the user selects asong or other audio clip from a set of choices provided, typically viadrop down menu. Alternatively, a menu of occasion themes may be providedsuch that the audio clip selection is determined and populated accordingto the selected theme.

If the user selects the option to record a message or other audio, thesystem provides an interface for receiving and recording a voice messageor other audio signal provided by the user. The interface web page(typically a pop-up window, iFrame or similar web interface) may includea series of prompts or instructions that provide tips for bestrecording, a button or link to begin recording audio, a sliding bar orother indicator such as a counter that shows time elapsed or remaininguntil a recording time limit is exceeded, a preview or playback buttonor link to allow the user to listen to the recording, and a save orcontinue button or link to save the recording within the system.

The user may select among choices provided by the interface such asselecting between options to record by computer microphone or to recordby telephone. If the option to record by computer microphone isselected, the user may record any sound, typically a voice message,using the computer microphone, and the recorded audio is uploaded to theprovider server or other storage medium. Alternatively, the system mayprovide an option to upload a prerecorded audio file such as an audiofile stored in mp3 or way format.

If the option to record by telephone is selected, the system provides atelephone number for the user to call to record any sound, typically avoice message, and the recorded audio is stored by the provider server.

After audio is recorded by the user using either method, the systemprovides an option to listen to the recording. The user may then approvethe recording for use or rerecord another audio segment. Review ofrecorded audio may occur via the user computer or via telephone voiceresponse unit. Once approved, the audio recording is saved as an mp3file or other operable format (e.g. way).

The audio file may remain stored on the initial server or storage deviceutilized during audio recording by the provider or may be transferred toa production site server or storage device. As a further alternative,the recordation and storage of audio files may be handled by a thirdparty service provider operating in cooperation with the systemprovider.

After the user completes the transaction, which typically includesproviding payment information, the system generates an ordercorresponding to the user selections and the order is transmitted to aprinting and production service for producing a gift card holder bearingpersonalized printing and including a personalized audio recording. Thedesign selected by the user is printed on the holder along with anyphotograph or text provided or selected by the user. If a pre-recordedsound, such as a song, was selected by the user, a pre-recorded soundmodule having the selected sound recorded thereon is affixed to, or moretypically within, the holder. If audio was recorded by the user it isloaded onto a blank sound module via USB or wireless file transfer, orother operable means, at a system production facility. The loaded soundmodule is then affixed to, or more typically within, the holder. A giftcard or other transaction card is attached to or within the holder, orotherwise bundled with the holder, and the holder is conveyed to therecipient via US mail or other mail delivery service.

A gift card holder in accordance with a video gift card holder formatallows the user to upload their own personal video file which is thendownloaded onto the video card holder via USB or other operable meanssuch as wireless radio signal (e.g. Wifi or Bluetooth) thus allowing therecipient to initiate playback upon receipt of the gift card held withinthe holder.

As an initial step, a user accesses the system interface and selects aholder design and, in certain embodiments, enters text in customizablefields. Next, the user may upload an image, such as a photograph, logoor other graphic. The user then selects whether to record a videosegment using the user computer camera or to upload a video message filevia remote computer or mobile device. The recorded video segment isstored in a video message file saved to a system server. The video giftcard holder cover is printed and bound to the video gift card holderframe. The video message file is loaded to the video gift card holdervideo storage module via selected connection mode at a system productionfacility. A gift card is attached to or within the video gift cardholder and the holder is conveyed to the recipient via US mail or othermail delivery service.

A video teaser is a video file which can be provided along with a giftcard and gift card holder to communicate a particular sentiment,occasion, or gift card brand experience. The video teaser is typicallypersonalized by uploading the gift card recipient's photo to a systemcentral server. Text content can be added to certain customizable textfields such as recipients name, occasion, or sentiment. Upon theuploading of personalized content, the video is then rendered orcomposited to include the personalized content. The video teaser is sentahead of the actual gift card, via email link to view the video, inorder to create excitement, anticipation, and imagination of thepossibilities of a special gift arriving soon, thus extending thegifting experience to multiple days.

Typically a user first selects a video teaser from among severalprerecorded videos that may be viewed on or from a system interface.Next, the user uploads a photograph of the recipient, enters therecipient's name in a text box, selects an appropriate occasion orsentiment from among several provided by the system, and enters therecipients email address. Upon uploading the photograph, it may beedited as described above. In some embodiments, additional text fieldsmay be provided to receive additional user text. The photograph and textare then rendered into the selected video based on pre-defined fieldswithin the video thereby creating an augmented reality experience forthe recipient. The user is provided with an option to preview the videoand make changes to the user information. When the user is satisfiedwith the video it is saved to a central server. Upon completing thetransaction via a payment/checkout procedure, an email message is sentto recipient with link to view the video.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:
 1. A method of generating a teaservideo for gifting to a recipient, the method comprising: providing,using instructions stored in at least one memory and executed by atleast one processor, a user interface generated by a computing device,the user interface displaying one or more gifts; receiving, using theinstructions, selection of one or more of the one or more gifts from auser by the user interface; receiving, using the instructions,user-supplied information that is associated with the selected gift, theuser-supplied information comprising at least one of a photograph anduser text by the user interface; compositing, using the instructions, ateaser video to include the received additional user-suppliedinformation by rendering the additional user-supplied information in oneor more pre-defined fields of the teaser video, the additionaluser-supplied information indicating, to the recipient, that theselected gift is to be received at a future time; and transmitting,using the instructions, the composited teaser video to the recipientprior to the transmitting of the gift to the recipient.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the gift comprises a gift card.
 3. The method of claim2, further comprising: receiving, by the user interface, selection ofone or more of a plurality of gift card holder designs, each gift cardholder design comprising one or more customizable elements for entry ofuser-supplied content; receiving, by the user interface, at least one ofan image file and text information from the user, where the image fileis stored in a data storage; associating the user-provided image file ortext information with the selected gift card holder design, wherein theuser provided image or text information comprises at least one of thecustomizable elements of the gift card holder design; and generating andtransmitting an order by the computing device to a production facility,where the order comprises information associated with the selected giftcard, the gift card holder design, the user-supplied image file or textinformation, and where the production facility assembles the gift cardholder and delivers the gift card holder and a gift card associated withthe gift card type to the recipient after the teaser video istransmitted to the recipient.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the giftcard is placed within the gift card holder.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the image file comprises a photograph.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the image file comprises a logo.
 7. The method of claim 3,further comprising: receiving, by the user interface, a sound file fromthe user, where the sound file comprises at least one of a voice messageand a music recording; and associating the sound file provided by theuser to the selected gift card holder design.
 8. A system of generatinga teaser video for gifting to a recipient, the system comprising: acomputing device comprising instructions stored in at least one memoryand executed by at least one processor to: provide a user interfacegenerated by a computing device, the user interface displaying one ormore gifts; receive selection of one or more of the one or more giftsfrom a user by the user interface; receive user-supplied informationthat is associated with the selected gift, the user-supplied informationcomprising at least one of a photograph and user text by the userinterface; composite a teaser video to include the received additionaluser-supplied information by rendering the additional user-suppliedinformation in one or more pre-defined fields of the teaser video, theadditional user-supplied information indicating, to the recipient, thatthe selected gift is to be received at a future time; and transmit thecomposited teaser video to the recipient prior to the transmitting ofthe gift to the recipient.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the giftcomprises a gift card.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein theinstructions are further executed to: receive selection of one or moreof a plurality of gift card holder designs, each gift card holder designcomprising one or more customizable elements for entry of user-suppliedcontent; receive at least one of an image file and text information fromthe user, where the image file is stored in a data storage; associatethe user-provided image file or text information with the selected giftcard holder design, wherein the user provided image or text informationcomprises at least one of the customizable elements of the gift cardholder design; and generate and transmit an order by the computingdevice to a production facility, where the order comprises informationassociated with the selected gift card, the gift card holder design, theuser-supplied image file or text information, and where the productionfacility assembles the gift card holder and delivers the gift cardholder and a gift card associated with the gift card type to therecipient after the teaser video is transmitted to the recipient. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the gift card is disposed within thegift card holder.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the image filecomprises a photograph.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the imagefile comprises a logo.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein theinstructions are further executed to: receive a sound file from theuser, where the sound file comprises at least one of a voice message anda music recording; and associate the sound file provided by the user tothe selected gift card holder design.
 15. Code implemented in anon-transitory, computer readable medium that when executed by at leastone processor, is configured to perform at least the following:providing a user interface generated by a computing device, the userinterface displaying one or more gifts; receiving selection of one ormore of the one or more gifts from a user by the user interface;receiving user-supplied information that is associated with the selectedgift, the user-supplied information comprising at least one of aphotograph and user text by the user interface; compositing a teaservideo to include the received additional user-supplied information byrendering the additional user-supplied information in one or morepre-defined fields of the teaser video, the additional user-suppliedinformation indicating, to the recipient, that the selected gift is tobe received at a future time; and transmitting the composited teaservideo to the recipient prior to the transmitting of the gift to therecipient.
 16. The code of claim 15, wherein the gift comprises a giftcard.
 17. The code of claim 16, further configured to perform:receiving, by the user interface, selection of one or more of aplurality of gift card holder designs, each gift card holder designcomprising one or more customizable elements for entry of user-suppliedcontent; receiving, by the user interface, at least one of an image fileand text information from the user, where the image file is stored in adata storage; associating the user-provided image file or textinformation with the selected gift card holder design, wherein the userprovided image or text information comprises at least one of thecustomizable elements of the gift card holder design; and generating andtransmitting an order by the computing device to a production facility,where the order comprises information associated with the selected giftcard, the gift card holder design, the user-supplied image file or textinformation, and where the production facility assembles the gift cardholder and delivers the gift card holder and a gift card associated withthe gift card type to the recipient after the teaser video istransmitted to the recipient.
 18. The code of claim 17, wherein the giftcard is placed within the gift card holder.
 19. The code of claim 15,wherein the image file comprises a photograph.
 20. The code of claim 17,therein the code is further configured to perform: receiving, by theuser interface, a sound file from the user, where the sound filecomprises at least one of a voice message and a music recording; andassociating the sound file provided by the user to the selected giftcard holder design.